


Dinner Date

by pinky_heaven19



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fake Dating, Flirting, Fluff, Getting Stood Up, M/M, accidental date, larry stylinson - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-04
Updated: 2016-11-04
Packaged: 2018-08-29 02:16:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8471716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinky_heaven19/pseuds/pinky_heaven19
Summary: “Sorry, what are you doing?” Louis managed to say, looking at him with his head cocked to the side, trying his best to sound more polite than intrusive.“I'm on a date, apparently,” Harry replied with a smile so big that a dimple appeared on his cheek. Fuck. “I was at the bar and saw you here alone. People were giving you weird looks and I thought it wouldn't hurt to come here and pretend to be your date.”OR the one where Louis gets stood up by his date and Harry comes to help him.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Thank you for stopping by! This was inspired by a prompt going around Tumblr and I decided to give it a shot!   
> Thanks again to [JohnDoe221B](http://archiveofourown.org/users/JohnDoe221B/pseuds/JohnDoe221B) for always being such a great beta!  
> Enjoy your reading!

Louis was fucking _livid_. He checked his phone for the millionth time in the past forty minutes and huffed, a humorless smile playing on his lips. He shook his head slightly, closing his eyes and sighing.  
  
It was so fucking typical of Adrian to be late, but this was a whole other level. It was usually a ten, fifteen minute wait, but now he was just being a dick.  
  
Louis looked around the small restaurant, tapping his fingers on the pristine white table cloth. It was a nice restaurant, one of his favorites, and he'd finally decided to take Adrian on a date there. They hadn't had too many of them, this was going to be their fourth, in fact, if only he'd bothered to fucking show up.  
  
“Are you ready to order, sir?” the waiter asked him, handing him the menu. Louis dismissed it with a wave of his hand.  
  
“Not yet, I'm waiting for someone,” he said, and it sounded even more pathetic when he spoke it out loud.  
  
“Of course,” the young man said and nodded politely, stepping away. Louis watched him move to the next table, and realized that all the three people around it were watching him. They quickly looked away when he caught them, but he had no doubt whatsoever that they were staring, probably feeling sorry for him. “I'm gonna fucking kill him,” he muttered under his breath.  
  
Louis had bothered to dress up, that was the problem. He usually had casual dates, dates where he could wear jeans and a t-shirt, where he didn't need to bother to put on a dress shirt and could quickly style his hair. But for this? He'd fucking _shaved_. He'd put on trousers he'd bothered to iron, and a shirt that brought out his blue eyes. He'd spent a good twenty minutes on his hair alone, and had even put on his most expensive cologne. He'd made an effort and it was pissing him off to have it go to waste. What a disaster of a Friday night.  
  
He looked at the knife set in front of him and wondered if it was enough to cause some real damage on tardy people. Maybe he would choke him with the bread sticks.  
  
He unlocked his phone and checked his messages. They'd been flirting all day, promises of a good time without a hint of subtlety. The condom in his pocket weighed heavily against his leg.  
  
_Where the fuck are you???_  
  
It had been the last text he'd sent Adrian, about ten minutes ago. He considered sending another one, with a little more profanity this time. Louis had quite a mouth on him, and while emojis weren't enough to properly express his anger, he thought he could get his point across in text just as well. He just needed a bunch of exclamation points and he would be all set.  
  
He looked up from his phone only to see the couple from the table next to his staring at him. Seriously? The man quickly looked away, but the woman gave him a small smile and shrugged her shoulders as if to say “what can you do”, and Louis was so close to losing it he gripped his phone tighter in his fist.  
  
“Sir? May I get you a menu?” This time it was a waitress, and she had on the sweetest possible smile, and Louis wanted to scream at her. It wasn't her fault that his date was a jerk, and it certainly wasn't her fault that Louis was one second away from making a scene, but he was feeling miserable and angry and he hated it.  
  
“No, thank you. I'll just wait a little while longer,” he faked his best polite smile.  
  
“Sure, call me if you need anything,” she said, and Louis could tell she knew he was being stood up. It was un-fucking-believable. He'd never been stood up in his entire life. He was the one who stood people up, and he'd done it only once (and it had been a complete accident, he'd just forgotten about it), not the other way around.  
  
He sipped his water, and his phone vibrated in his hand. He mentally prepared himself for the lame excuse he was about to read, when his eyes widened. It wasn't even Adrian texting him, it was his _mum_. His mum was texting him and Adrian hadn't even bothered to spend ten seconds of his day to send him a fucking text. Louis was done with this shit. People were pitying him, and he didn't need that in his life.  
  
Wishing he had a flip phone to clap closed, he moved his chair back to leave when a sudden movement across from him froze him in place.  
  
“Sorry, love. Traffic was mental and my battery died, please forgive me,” the stranger said, loudly enough for the people around them to hear. Louis blinked at the man who'd just sat at his table, giving him a big, warm smile.  
  
Louis was stunned into silence. He was probably the most gorgeous man he'd seen his whole life. He had bright, green eyes and curly brown hair that reached his shoulders. His lips were full and pink and Louis wouldn't be surprised if he had lipstick on. He was wearing a beautiful black silk shirt, the first few buttons opened to reveal a chest full of tattoos. Louis swallowed dry.  
  
The man leaned in and spoke lowly so that only Louis could hear him. “I'm Harry, by the way. Sorry you got stood up, it sucks.”  
  
His voice was deep and he spoke in a somewhat slow cadence, and Louis still hadn't spoken a word. “Should we order?” Harry said, not giving Louis any time to answer before waving a waiter over. The man who'd first served Louis seemed happy, smiling at Louis and handing them both menus. With a quick glance, Louis saw the woman who'd shrugged her shoulders at him give him a thumbs up. “What's good here? I've never been to this restaurant before.” Harry said, looking at the menu.  
  
“The codfish is very good,” Louis mumbled, and Harry made a face.  
  
“Don't want my breath to smell like fish the entire night. Is the pasta any good?” He asked, looking up at Louis and he only nodded, too baffled to do much more. “It's settled, then. And for you?”  
  
“Sorry, what are you doing?” Louis managed to say, looking at him with his head cocked to the side, trying his best to sound more polite than intrusive.  
  
“I'm on a date, apparently,” Harry replied with a smile so big that a dimple appeared on his cheek. _Fuck_. “I was at the bar and saw you here alone. People were giving you weird looks and I thought it wouldn't hurt to come here and pretend to be your date.”  
  
“Thank you, I guess,” Louis said, and Harry smiled. He couldn't help smiling back.  
  
“May I take your order, now?” The waiter appeared again and Louis was pulled out of his daydream.  
  
“I'll have the lasagna and he will have...?” Harry gave him a questioning look.  
  
“The steak. Well done, please,” he said to the waiter and handed him his menu back.  
  
“A bottle of wine, as well? Red?” Harry asked, and Louis nodded. “Thank you,” he said to the waiter with a smile and turned his attention completely back to Louis. “So, your date is a dickhead,” he said matter of factly and Louis chuckled. “He has to be, to leave you here waiting for him looking all nice like that,” he said with a glint in his eyes and a smirk.  
  
Louis left his house thinking he was going to have a date with Adrian and was instead flirting with this beautiful stranger called Harry, who was charming and sweet. He couldn't say he minded.  
  
“And what were you doing here, all alone as well?” Louis asked, watching the man roll the sleeves of his shirt a bit. He had beautiful hands, some of his fingers adorned with rings.  
  
“That's how I get dates. Wait for pretty men to get stood up and barge my way in,” he said, and looked down at Louis' phone on the table as it vibrated. Without even looking at the screen, Louis pocketed it. Harry's smile grew bigger.  
  
The waiter came with their wine and poured each of them a glass. Louis watched as Harry sipped his and closed his eyes briefly. “Really good,” he said, setting his glass down. Louis blinked and took a sip of his own. It filled his mouth with warmth and sweetness, and he knew what Harry would taste like if he kissed him right now.  
  
“So....” Louis started, a little awkwardly. He was usually pretty charming himself on his first dates, but surprise ones weren't his strongest suit, apparently.  
  
“So...” Harry continued with a playful smile. He let the silence linger a little longer before continuing to speak. “Was this your first date or something? Bringing him to a nice, fancy restaurant in the hopes of getting laid?”  
  
Louis chuckled, surprised at the blunt tone of the man's conversation. “Actually, no. We've been on a few dates before, and that's emotionally manipulative,” he said, shaking his head and drinking a little more of his wine.  
  
Harry hummed in agreement. “True, although I have to admit that if I fancy a guy, just buying me gum is usually enough to get into my pants,” he said teasingly and Louis laughed out loud, hiding his mouth with his hand to muffle the sound. Harry's dimple popped again and Louis was glad he was sitting down.  
  
“Well, should I be buying you gum, then?” Louis teased back and Harry smirked, running his fingers through his hair. It looked soft and Louis wondered what it smelled like.  
  
“You're already buying me dinner,” Harry joked and picked his glass up. When he put it down again, his lips were stained just a little darker.  
  
“Who said I'm paying for you?” Louis scoffed, and Harry only raised his eyebrows at him in lieu of an answer. Louis bit his lips. He was so attracted to this man it had stopped being funny. “What do you do for a living, Harry?”  
  
“Guess,” he said playfully and Louis smiled.  
  
“A lawyer?” Harry shook his head. “A software developer? An accountant? A publicist?” Harry shook his head to all of them. “Oh, come on. It's an office job, right?”  
  
“Nope,” Harry said, looking very amused. Louis had to admit he was having a hell of a good time, as well.  
  
“A dog walker? An underwear model?”  
  
Harry chuckled and poured themselves more wine. “I'm a mechanic.”  
  
Louis scoffed. “Bullshit, you're not a mechanic.”  
  
“And why wouldn't I be a mechanic?”  
  
“Your hands are too clean, not a smudge under your fingernails,” Louis replied and Harry smiled.  
  
“There is this great invention called soap. Use it with water and voilá, you're not permanently covered in dirt,” Harry teased and Louis stuck his tongue out at him. It made Harry laugh, and it sounded so clear and almost childish that Louis found himself fucking fonding over that ridiculous man.

  
“You're ridiculous,” he said to him, and Harry pretended to be offended for a brief second before their food arrived. Louis watched as he sincerely thanked the waiter before taking a big bite out of his food. His eyes closed and let out a moan that was a little too sexual for comfort, and Louis shifted in his chair.  
  
“This tastes amazing. Here, have a bite,” Harry said and cut a piece out of his lasagna, lightly blowing on it before handing the fork over to Louis. For a wild minute, Louis thought he was gonna feed him, but instead he handed the fork so Louis could hold it himself. His heart started beating faster nonetheless.  
  
It was indeed good, and he shared a little bit of his steak with Harry as well. Harry kept him on his toes with his jokes and witty comments all night, and Louis only thought about Adrian once, when his phone rang loudly and he quickly ignored his call, silencing the device and putting it back in his pocket. His fingers brushed against the condom and he hoped he could use it with Harry eventually.  
  
“You're joking,” Harry told him, drinking the last of his wine. Louis was just slightly tipsy, just enough to feel warm and almost brave to consider kissing Harry at the end of the night. “You do not have six siblings,” he said, honestly impressed.  
  
“I'm the oldest, too,” Louis said and Harry took a bite out of the lava cake they'd ordered for dessert.  
  
“Get your parents a TV or something this Christmas,” Harry joked and Louis laughed. He'd stopped trying to avoid it about one and a half hours ago. “Seriously, even a tablet would be enough of a distraction.”  
  
Louis looked at him, still laughing. His cheeks were hurting from smiling all night long. “They're all my half-siblings, but I'll consider your idea,” he said and looked down at his now empty dessert plate. He didn't want to check his phone, but he knew it was probably late.  
  
“Do you want some coffee?” Harry asked and he nodded, happy to have an excuse to spend a little more time with Harry. They drank it in almost silence, and when they ordered the check, they decided to split it.

  
“It wasn't even an official date, yeah?” Harry had said. “I didn't ask you out, and you didn't ask me out. It's only fair.”  
  
If Louis thought he had a habit of messing with his fringe, Harry took the cake for messing with his own hair. Louis was almost keeping a tab of how many times he'd pushed it back, to the point it looked almost greasy in the front. Still, all Louis wanted to do was run his fingers through it while they kissed.  
  
Maybe he was more than just a little tipsy.  
  
They stood up from their chairs and Louis felt his legs stiff after sitting down for so long. When Harry picked up his cell, he realized they'd been talking and eating for almost three hours, and all he could think about was that he wanted Harry to have come to his table earlier.  
  
“Do you have your car with you?” Harry asked when they stepped out of the restaurant. Only then Louis noticed how tall the man actually was, and now that he was standing right next to him, he could feel the faint smell of his cologne, earthy and woody. Jesus.  
  
“No, I use the tube,” Louis said, searching his brain for something to say. He just couldn't let this man go without at least his number.  
  
“Me too. Do you live very far?” Harry asked, and Louis shook his head. “How many blocks?”  
  
Louis looked up and scrunched his face, putting his hands inside his pockets. “About fifteen, I guess.”  
  
Harry's face broke in a grin. “Perfect. I'll walk you. Which way?” he asked and Louis chuckled.  
  
“You're going to walk me all the way home?” he said in disbelief and Harry shrugged his shoulders.  
  
“If we ride on the tube it's going to be too fast. I'm buying my time here,” he admitted and Louis smirked.  
  
“Let's go, then,” he said and cocked his head to the side, leading them in the direction of his flat.  
  
The streets were still a little busy, and Louis felt strangely safe walking next to Harry. He didn't like to be walking around alone at night, even if he didn't have anything of value with him. He stepped just a little closer to Harry, and their arms brushed together.  
  
Harry looked down at him with a smile and they kept walking in silence, which didn't last long because they were both chatterboxes, and Louis was wearing comfortable enough shoes to keep him in a good mood with all the walking.  
  
“Are you going on another date with this guy? Give him another chance?” Harry asked him out of the blue.  
  
“I don't know. He's not my boyfriend or anything, we've just been on a few dates.”  
  
“I would dump his ass,” Harry told him and Louis giggled.  
  
“Maybe I'll do just that,” he said and Harry nodded, pleased.  
  
When they got to Louis' street, he had to resist the urge to go around the block a couple of times. Maybe Harry wouldn't notice they were walking in circles. Instead, he stopped at the steps of his building. Harry stood one step below him, making them almost the same height. “That's me,” Louis said, standing awkwardly. “Thanks for walking me home.”  
  
“No problem....” Harry said and his eyes widened. “Shit, I don't know your name.”  
  
Louis chuckled and moved his fringe out of his face. “I'm Louis.”  
  
“It's very nice to meet you, Louis,” Harry said, shaking his hand playfully. “Thanks for the date,” he said, and Louis nodded.  
  
“Thanks for saving my night.”  
  
“Anytime,” Harry said with a smile. “Good night, Louis,” he turned around and walked down the few steps back to the sidewalk.  
  
Louis bit his lips, uncertain. Harry made no mention of a second date, and this truly had been a fun night, but that was it. Louis had absolutely no reason to shout the way he did, and yet.  
  
“Harry!”  
  
The tall man looked back, quickly enough that Louis could almost assume he was just waiting to be called.  
  
“I have gum. In my place,” he started and Harry made his way back to him with a grin on his face. “Maybe you could come over some other time for it.”  
  
“I don't know,” Harry said with a click of his tongue, “Is it mint flavored?”  
  
“Yes,” Louis said, stepping closer to him.  
  
“Too bad, it's the only kind I don't like,” Harry said and meant to start walking away, but Louis pulled him by the shirt with a laugh.  
  
“Tomorrow?” Louis asked and Harry nodded.  
  
“I know where you live,” he said and leaned closer to Louis. He kissed the corner of Louis' mouth, and, before that, Louis always thought he was too old to feel butterflies in his stomach. “Good night again, Louis.”  
  
Louis watched him walk away until he turned around the corner. He waved him goodbye before disappearing and Louis raised a celebratory fist in the air. He went up his flat and took his phone out of his pocket. He had to call Adrian, the sooner the better.  
  
Louis wouldn't mind dressing up and making an effort for Harry the next day. Somehow, he had a feeling it was going to be worth it this time.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Kudos and comments are always much appreciated. Come say hi to me on [Tumblr](http://pinky-heaven19.tumblr.com/)!


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